I have all the symptoms of Bipolar but my doc diagnosed me with ADHD and Social Anxiety Disorder. I never really talked with him about depression because i get embarrassed and i don’t like other people that are depressed, (i dont know they just make me mad.) I don’t want to tell anyone about my cutting and suicide attempts. I actually lied to my doc about this. But there is still a posibility that i dont have bipolar. My bestfriend is bipolar and we act the same (she just got diagnosed). Anyway i cant sleep and i want to try meds but my mom says she doesn’t believe in medication because im only 15 and she doesn’t want me to have long term effects. But i also feel like i am more of ADHD because i get really hyper and can't pay attention to ANYTHING?
any advise? I dont know what to do! should i just forget about this whole thing since im not going to take meds it dosent matter what i have. ......???

hello, graymoth. my doctor, too, tried to label me as adhd as a kid, when my symptoms were actually more like bipolar mania. as far as taking medication at your age goes, i have been prescribed meds since i was about eight, and i don't believe i have long-term problems from doing so. it took a long time for my doctor to figure out i was cutting at 15, too--a physician actually "busted" me while taking my blood pressure. perhaps your symptoms are mania as well...i tend to get spaced out and have to ask people to repeat what they had just said sometimes, and in an hour i will be very sad, a completely different persona. if you are seeing a psychiatrist, and he or she believes you should try medication, perhaps you and your mother could discuss with your doctor the possibility of taking something. good luck.

graymoth sorry your having a hard tiem. I think you have to be perfectly honest with your doctor or they wont really know what is wrong with you. Also tell your mom how you are feeling maybe she can go to the doctors with you. I hope you find the help you want.

thanks guys but im not going to see my psychiatrist again becasue my mom didnt want me to. oh well, i kinda didnt want to go on meds anyway bu they may have helped.

Hi Graymoth,

Have a chat with your mum again about natural forms of medication you can take. A homeopath got me off all my meds and treated me with purely natural forms of medication, all of which worked well without any side effects. I can understand your mum not wanting you to be on medication but you can't be left to cope with this on your own. There are other alternatives and a homeopath would probably be able to help. Ask her to find out about counselling as well - cutting yourself is a terribly dangerous thing to do and it is simply a coping mechanism ('reformed' self-harmer here). People generally cut as a way of dealing with strong emotions - counselling can help you work stuff out, so gradually the need to cut recedes, plus you can learn other ways of coping with the way you feel about stuff.

I don't want to be rude as I'm sure your mum loves you very much, but she can't just leave you to deal with this without the support of professionals. My mum didn't do anything about my problems and I was in my thirties before I got myself sorted out. If your mum can't do any more, is there someone else you can talk to - maybe the mum of your friend with BP? Or a school teacher/nurse/any adult that you trust and you can speak to in confidence? You really shouldn't be dealing with this alone.

I hope there's someone you can talk to and that can help you to find alternatives to medication - they are out there, but you probably need a more experienced person to help you figure out what to try and what to avoid.

Let us know how you're getting on

Janine xx

Did you take a look at that book "The Mood Cure" by Julia Ross?

It's definately worth reading, especially if you are totally not going to take meds. You need to do SOMETHING to help yourself. There's an old axium, "you are what you eat." Take a good look at your diet and consider how it may be affecting your moods. If your diet is high in sugars, sodas, coffee, simple carbs, junk foods or if you have sparodic eating habits like skipping meals you may really want to consider making some changes. Even experiencing lots of stress in your life can pull down your nutritional needs.

Drop in at the library or the book store and spend just 30 minutes with this book and you may just decide that there is an answer here!